Simulating a gun blue finish

It shouldn't be that difficult. Most firearm manufacturers making handguns these days are using either natural metal finish (primarily stainless steel) or some sort of industrial coating. The days of fine blued salt-type finishes are gone. Industrial coatings are easier to apply and tougher than a true blued finish.

My Berettas are all primarily a semi-gloss black finish. Glocks are, obviously, just molded in black and the slide is finished in black. In fact most "Blueing" is actually closer to black than it is blue. The "Gunmetal" color offered by most paint companies is a very dark gray.

If you really want a blued finish, I'd try a light gray primer and then start spraying very dark blue over it. Finish it up with some Future with Tamiya flat base mixed in (about 5:1 works when I want a semi-gloss-more-on-the-flat-side finish).

Keep in mind that this would probably be illegal in some states. Some states require that "Toy" guns (which would probably include Airsoft) look like toy guns so that it is difficult for someone to try and stick up a Quicky Mart with one of them.

"Keep in mind that this would probably be illegal in some states. Some states require that "Toy" guns (which would probably include Airsoft) look like toy guns so that it is difficult for someone to try and stick up a Quicky Mart with one of them."


Just be carefull doing that. While on duty I stopped a man who was stupid enough to tuck a re-painted toy gun in his waist band walked into a convienence store and joked with the clerk about how he could hold up the place with it and that you couldn't tell the difference. The clerk was scared to death, called the police; when I arrived, not knowing it was a toy I drew down on him preparing to fire. The man pissed himself and the toy fell out of his pants and broke on the floor. The guy tried to explain that he was just kidding around and all, but still was charged with attempt robbery with a deadly weapon. Have to give it to him though, the paint job was awesome! Here in Indianapolis, it's zero tolorence for the re-painting of toy guns. Sorry for the story, just reminded me of the guy I locked up. Happy modeling!

I've found that Humbrol's Metal-Cote "Gunmetal" is a quite accurate finish for model weapons. It dries flat but polishes to a realistic 1:1 finish. Gary

Thanks guys. But please be assured that my airsoft guns are not displayed in public. I'm a Korean and much to the stereotype, my parents have owned a liquor store for some time, and I do not think of displaying weapons in public as a joke. Besides, I wouldn't count on a cop to care about whether a gun pointed at him has an orange muzzle or not.

Any guess as to what a clear blue over gloss black overcoated with Future might look like? Rather than a simple dark blue paint, the blue finish seem to look more blue when seen from an angle...

I collect/build replica movie props, including guns. While it's not the same as blueing, here's a tip that I've heard for making more realistic gunmetal finishes on guns:

Pain the gun flat black or gunmetal gray, depending on the type of metal you're trying to replicate. Get some of the black powdered graphite that comes in tubes and rub it into the finish. Give it a shot of clear coat.

This will give the paint more of a metalic look, that regular black paint won't give. Apparently, that's how a lot of movie prop masters paint their rubber/resin stunt guns to give it an authentic real metal finish.

What do you guys think of Testors Model Masters Gunmetal?